Puntland Gen. Abdullahi Sa'id Samatar has been ordered arrested by the president of the Somalian breakaway region in the north of the country. He had sought to run for president in the upcoming elections., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
Friday, April 27th, 2012 at 07:18 pm
SOMALIA: Puntland orders arrest of prominent politician- sources
Gen Samatar, a former security minister and presidential candidate in the region’s upcoming election has strongly contested against president Farole’s political schema and warned over the postponement of the election after January 8th 2013.
Garowe (RBC)
The president of Somalia’s semi-autonomous state of Puntland has ordered the arrest of Gen Abdullahi Sa’id Samatar who is a prominent opposition leader in Puntland, reliable sources confirmed to RBC Radio.
The order which emerged last week during a meeting by Puntland cabinet came following growing criticism against the one-year extension decision of president Abdurahman Mohamed Farole’s term which is due to end on January next year.
The decision of arrest was formally proposed by son of President Mohamed Abdurahman, the president’s media advisor and sometime the spokesperson of the presidential office who attended the meeting in the state house.
Gen Samatar, a former security minister and presidential candidate in the region’s upcoming election has strongly contested against president Farole’s political schema and warned over the postponement of the election after January 8th 2013. Gen Samatar also pointed out under-cover index through the newly adopted Puntland constitution which the president intended to legalize his extension of term.
Locals begun to question the order which they said could create tensions in the clan-based authority in the region as the security officials also cautioned to put the order into practice but the son of the president was still on the fore-front to implement the order.
On March, officials of Puntland security ministry ordered two foreign aid agencies in Bosasso to abandon from buildings belonged to Gen Samatar to block the money paid as rent to the opposition man.
RBC Radio
Saturday, April 28th, 2012 at 11:16 am
SOMALIA: Senior officer of South-African mercenary firm killed in Puntland
The picture of small airstrip which Saracen has set up near Bosasso. photo file RBC Radio Bosasso (RBC) Senior training officer for South African mercenary firm, Saracen International was shot to death by his fellow Somali guards in Puntland on Friday, RBC Radio reports.
The shooting has reportedly taken place on Friday at Timirshe village on the suburb of Iskushuban district, 160km east from Bosasso, the provincial capital of Somalia’s northeastern region after heavy argument between the white-south African commander and his Somali guards.
Several bullets were shot on his head and the chest and led to urgent death.
Unnamed security officials in Puntland confirmed the killing as they claimed that urgent investigations were launched to identify the reason of the killing but reliable sources told RBC Radio that at least 40 Somali guards working for the firm were arrested for the case.
The body of the deceased foreign officer was taken back to Qaw location near Bosasso town late on Friday while there were no immediate comments from Saracen’s officials in the region.
The foreign mercenary firm which claims a counter-piracy mission in Puntland have recently set up new camps in eastern districts of Puntland but there has been growing anger from the local community who suspect that the group involved other illegal activities including stealing of precious gemstones from the region.
The Saracen mission in Somalia started in 2010 in coordinating with a security training contract with the transitional government of Somalia but later that year the company moved to Puntland after signing another contract with the local administration under the name of “anti-piracy” mission.
Both the UN and the U.S government expressed their concern over the mission after news agencies and UN body monitoring the arms embargo on Somalia revealed that Saracen International, paid by unnamed Muslim nation begun to import weapons for Puntland administration.
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